With a make-shift memorial to slain North St. Paul police officer Richard Crittenden in the foreground, police chief Thomas A. Lauth, center, spoke to the media about funeral arrangements among other things September 8, 2009 in front of city hall. (Pioneer Press: Chris Polydoroff)

Veteran North St. Paul police officer Richard Crittenden apparently was shot dead with his own gun during a violent struggle with a man who lunged at his estranged wife and the slain officer with a burning towel or rag.

“He died saving someone else,” said a law enforcement source of Crittenden. The source, familiar with the ongoing investigation, offered the first detailed description of Monday morning’s chaotic scene.

Crittenden reportedly pushed the woman out of harm’s way but in the process left himself vulnerable for the man to ambush him, grab his handgun and shoot him, the source said.

A Maplewood police officer was slightly wounded but shot the suspect dead during an exchange of gunfire moments later inside the North St. Paul apartment in the 2200 block of Skillman Avenue.

The scenario, based on preliminary witness accounts from the injured female officer and the estranged wife, remains to be confirmed and is the subject of an investigation by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

But the setting pieced together so far by investigative sources shed light on the likely circumstances that led to the first shooting death of a police officer in the line of duty in North St. Paul’s 122-year history.

Investigators on Tuesday released little official information about the details surrounding the Labor Day shootings — including the names of the injured officer and slain suspect, who was identified by his estranged wife as Devon Dockery. But reams of court papers released Tuesday on Dockery’s numerous run-ins with the law show a violent and troubled man.

“Devon is a ticking time bomb ready to explode,” his estranged wife, Stacey Terry, wrote in filing for one of four orders of protection against him.

RECENT RUN-INS

On Tuesday, funeral arrangements for 57-year-old Richard “Rick” Crittenden were finalized and set for Friday in Maplewood. As the investigation continued, BCA spokeswoman Janell Rasmussen said the name of the Maplewood police officer and suspect would likely be released today.

Also on Tuesday, the Ramsey County medical examiner’s office ruled both deaths homicides caused by gunshot wounds, said chief investigator Don Gorrie.

The Maplewood Police Department has placed the second officer, who is recovering from a gunshot wound to the wrist, on paid administrative leave. Maplewood Deputy Chief Dave Kvam said the leave is standard policy for any officer involved in a shooting.

“Taking a life and seeing someone lose theirs is a very traumatic experience,” he said of the officer, who had been called in to back up Crittenden, a nine-year veteran of the North St. Paul police force.

Meanwhile, court documents explained how Dockery, with his criminal past, was even out of jail.

Just over a week ago, the 34-year-old Dockery was arrested for violating the latest court-issued protection order — from May — to stay away from Terry.

According to a criminal complaint, North St. Paul police were called to Terry’s Aspen Village apartment “on or around” Aug. 26. They found Dockery lying on the living room floor of the apartment watching television. He told police he was waiting for dinner to be served and that the order for protection had expired. Police found county records showed otherwise and arrested him.

Ramsey County District Judge Edward Wilson could not be reached for comment Tuesday. But records show that at a court appearance Aug. 27, Wilson gave Dockery two options for the violation of a protection order: Post $15,000 bail or be put on a conditional release. Dockery opted for the conditional release, which included obeying the no-contact order and to be law-abiding.

Project Remand, the county’s program for handling of defendants considered low-risk, oversaw Dockery’s conditional release.

As early as Sunday, police returned to Terry’s apartment after Dockery was seen there. By the time officers arrived, he was gone — setting up the fatal return visit Monday.

Mary Pat Maher, executive director of Project Remand, said the program did everything it could, including finding Dockery housing in Minneapolis so he would have a place to live and not try to return to Terry’s apartment.

“We did that so he wouldn’t go back and violate that (protection order). But he ended up doing it anyway,” Maher said. “We just feel horribly. I think we did everything we could, and it’s very unfortunate. Our sympathies go out to the officer’s family.”

But St. Paul Police Federation President David Titus expressed concern as to why the system doesn’t allow those with a violent history to face stricter measures.

“I think as a society we should question it. I’m sure there are restrictions and constraints on everybody,” he said. “But it’s unfortunate that a violent loser like this with a history of crime is allowed to move freely in our society. … People like this exist and we have a horrible result — a good officer has lost his life.”

A CRIMINAL PAST

Court records reveal Dockery had a history of crime — and two of his biggest targets were his estranged wife and the mother of two of his children.

Terry, who had known Dockery for 11 years, had filed four orders for protection against him between 2000 and May.

The first, filed Nov. 14, 2000, in Washington County, was dismissed after Terry and Dockery missed scheduled court appearances. The second — filed April 29, 2003, in Ramsey County — describes a violent account that left Terry fearing for her life.

Dockery kicked in a bathroom door “and smacked me in the face,” Terry detailed in her affidavit. She retreated to her bedroom and sent a daughter there to the girl’s bedroom.

“As soon as she left, his hand came from behind his back,” she wrote. “He pointed directly in my face while clicking a gun and said he will shot (sic) me and my car and save 2 for hisself (sic).”

She called police, who arrested Dockery. They couldn’t find the gun, she wrote.

In December 2002, Dockery pleaded guilty to making terroristic threats against the mother of Dockery’s then 7- and 2-year-old children, court records said. A Hennepin County district judge sentenced him to 90 days in the workhouse and probation. He also was ordered to have no contact with the woman.

And in 2003, Dockery was sent to prison after he was convicted of possession of a firearm by an ineligible person in Ramsey County. He was acquitted of a second-degree assault charge, and a terrorist threats charge was dismissed.

A third order of protection, filed May 21, 2008, by Terry in Ramsey County, is listed as confidential. But the fourth order, filed May 19, 2009, came four days after Terry said Dockery “forced me to give him money claiming to repair a tire for my car,” she wrote in the affidavit. “He stated if I didn’t, he would break me and everything else in my apartment.”

Terry was living in the Skillman Avenue apartment at the time; Dockery was living in Minneapolis.

She said the following day he locked her in her bedroom and “stated he would kill me.”

Terry also wrote that Dockery said the next time he pointed a gun at her, he was going to use it, and “he is not going back to jail.”

Funeral: Services for slain North St. Paul police officer Richard “Rick” Crittenden will be at 11 a.m. Friday at Aldrich Arena in Maplewood. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Sandberg Funeral Home in North St. Paul.

Memorials: The Richard Crittenden Memorial Fund has been created. Donations can be made at any Anchor Bank or mailed to the branch at 2700 Seventh Ave. E., North St. Paul, MN 55109.

WORDS OF GRIEF

“His death is a deeply painful reminder that our law enforcement officers risk their lives every day on the job,” U.S. Rep.Betty McCollum wrote in a prepared statement. “As a former North St. Paul City Council member, the loss of Officer Crittenden hits hard, as I know it does for all residents.”

“This has been a tremendously tragic event for this police department,” North St. PaulPolice Chief Tom Lauth said at a Tuesday news conference. “We’re going to be less without him … it’s hard to answer why this had to happen.”

“You knew you could rely on him to back you up in any situation,” said Wabasha County Sheriff Rodney Bartsh, where Crittenden worked from 1998 to 2000. Crittenden was a man who often worked extra hard after starting his police career later than most — earning his law enforcement degree in 1997.

Nancy Ngo is a Minnesota Native who grew up reading the Pioneer Press, so it’s fitting that she would one day work for them. She is a three time Society of Professional Journalists Page One Award winner. Before covering food and lifestyle, she has previously covered government and public safety. She has served on boards including the Asian American Journalists Association and The University of Minnesota’s The School of Journalism and Mass Communication Alumni Society Board.

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